Talk:The Lord's Prayer/@comment-1.124.127.236-20140528103909/@comment-75.66.69.95-20140916032600
Thank you for bringing up the mushroom ingestion by Rollo and Torstein in the last episdoe of the second season of Vikings. First, Floki's use of the mushrooms to fake Torstein's death is stratight forwar, there are fungi that are known to be toxic, and their effect depends upon dosage. I believe there are a couple of kinds that can have the effect of lower blood pressure, heart rate, and make respirations shallow enough for someone who doesn't suspect the fiegn to believe the person in question is dead. It looked like Torstein had vomitted up some blood and food, and in all likelihood, probably some of the undigested mushrooms. Once everyone dispersed, Floki probably revived him, or at least may have given him something to bind and excrete the residual poisin. Remember, amongst Floki's many talents is that of healing. He treated Ragnar when he was so badly injured as he fought off Earl Haraldson's men. (And, Helga learns from Floki, enough to help him after he is nearly killed by Rollo. That takes me to my second point, or rather, question. Why did Floki give Rollo "the food of the gods"? Ok, maybe there was something to their belief of being descended from Odin (in a spiritual way, we are all descended from our Creator). So what was Floki's intention? He hated Rollo. If it wasn't enough for him to hate Rollo for "putting me in a bed like this", just the fact that he killed Arne would be enough. I am sure Floki wasn't all that pleased when Ragnar forgave Rollo four years after he betrayed them by siding with Jarl Borg. (an aside, It is with rather great delight that Rollo sits on Jarl Borgs bed, and watches the others beat Jarl Borg within inches of his life. So, many of us would understand it if Floki gave Rollo a rather large deadly dosage. But, did he? Rollo did not try to spit the mushrooms out, He chewed, and swallowed them. Then, Floki did his odd gestures, and thumped Rollo on the chest once he did chew and swallow the fungi. So, what was his intent? Was he trying to kill Rollo? Was he testing the lethalitiy of the mushrooms that he planned to use to feign Torstein's death? Afterall, Torstein was one of the few men larger than Rollo. Floki is tall, but lean. So, my second possibility after the possible intension of killing Rollo, is that he was experiementing on Rollo to get an idea of what doesage would know Torstein out, without killing him. Third is as suggested by a previous writer, that mushrooms were used for a few things in the Vikings time. Onc that we had seen in the first spisode of season two, was Jarl Borg and Rollo took mushrooms before they started to fight Ragnar and Horiks army. Did Floki, who we know dislikes Rollo(an understatement) , try to help him to defend himself against Horik's men? FLoki knew that Horik wanted to "wipe their family off the face of the earth". Did Floki intentd to help Rollo ? Even alive, given his condition, there was little that Rollo could do. Does anyone think that maybe Ragnar, knowing of Floki's skills in healing asked him to help Rollo so that he could do more than become a helpless invalid? I am really intersted in hearing other peoples ideas about why Floki gave Rollo the mushrooms.